74 STD Beetle, clicks when turning

[Stray Catalyst]

I have been trying to track down and fix problems on a 74 bug. When turning left, the right rear wheel (I think) clicks. It doesn't sound like what I'm used to hearing from a dying CV joint (those click more frequently, and are much louder when accelerating while turning).

I tightened the CV on the driver's side - all six bolts holding the CV to the stub axle were slightly loose, though none had gotten very loose. With the car in gear and one rear wheel elevated, I get about one inch of rotation, with no unusual noises. In neutral, the tire spins without any unusual noises.

Any theories?
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196? Laser 917 Kit Car
1982 Vanagon Westy Diesel 1.6NA
1974 Sun Bug, lowered std Beetle
1969 Westy, mostly stock, the Road Trip bus.

[Multi69s]

When was the last time you re-greased the CVs? I know its a nasty job, but that is the first thing I would do. In fact if you haven't, you don't know what shape they are in.
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[Stray Catalyst]

I haven't regreased these yet - I've not had it for long. I'll remove that axle and regrease both the CVs, and see if that solves the problem.

Both CVs move in their usual orientation (inwards and outwards) with no discernible movement in the directions they aren't supposed to move in, and aren't noisy, but you're right, I'll have a much clearer picture once I've done this.

(edit)
I grabbed a spare axle off the shelf, cleaned and regreased both CVs... and the thunderstorm started. So I'll replace the suspect axle and see if it changes the problem, once the storm is done.
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196? Laser 917 Kit Car
1982 Vanagon Westy Diesel 1.6NA
1974 Sun Bug, lowered std Beetle
1969 Westy, mostly stock, the Road Trip bus.

[Cusser]

[Stray Catalyst]

I replaced the axle, and the sound is still there. It's possible that the CVs I cleaned and regreased had the same subtle, hard to spot problem as the previous ones, but unlikely. I'll clean up and carefully examine the one I removed, but those CVs were both easy to move in their usual ranges of motion... I'll know more clearly once I've cleaned them and looked for grooves or damage.

Any other theories? I'm going to doublecheck the stub axle, as I recently had a brake drum fail - I thought the damage was limited to the ruined drum. If that isn't the problem (and the CV isn't it) then I'm looking at pulling the trans and replacing it with a salvaged one, as I can't think of another component that creates this sound when the car is turning.... the bearings would make noises most/all of the time, not just when turning, right?

(edit)
I disassembled one of the CVs I removed... and it's scored. So it looks like this was indeed multiple (used) CVs with similar problems. I'll scrape together my pennies and get some Lobro replacements.
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196? Laser 917 Kit Car
1982 Vanagon Westy Diesel 1.6NA
1974 Sun Bug, lowered std Beetle
1969 Westy, mostly stock, the Road Trip bus.

[David_nc_72std]

Have you looked to see if anything might be hitting the rear axles while turning and the suspension is flexing? Also, if you changed the brake drum on that side, check that the wheel lug bolts aren't a bit too long and hitting something.

[Q13931152]

It could be very possible that the axle nut might not have been torqued down tight enough and now the brake drum is able to move ever so slightly on the axle and makes the noise you're hearing. It'd be worth checking out on your car, especially if the drum that failed for you is on the side that's making noise now.
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